Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
by wanderingmindstravelfar
Summary: Juliet O'Hara suddenly and unexpectedly resigns from SBPD upon realizing that she has developed feelings for Lassiter. Shawn and Lassie team up to investigate her mysterious departure. Will Juliet admit her feelings, or is this really goodbye? Juliet/Lassiter romance, Juliet/Shawn friendship
1. Chapter 1

"O'Hara!" Juliet cringes at the much-dreaded sound of her name. She stops in her tracks, knowing there's no way out of this. _Thanks chief_, she mutters internally, _you couldn't have waited until I was out of the building to tell him. _Taking a deep breath, Juliet bites her lip, and turns around to face Lassiter.

"What the _hell_ is going on?" he demands sternly, his face stricken with its usual severity, but this time with a hint of desperation. Carlton clenches his jaw and waves her letter of resignation in the air between them. "This had better be a joke."

Juliet opens her mouth to explain, but no words come out, so she shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head lightly.

Lassiter's eyes widen in disbelief. "Four years of working together and all you can give me is a blank stare? _No_!" he shouts, crumpling the paper and tossing it sideways in anger. "You're going to tell me what this is about, and you're going to do it now," he demands, his voice loud enough to garner a significant amount of unwanted attention throughout the precinct.

"Can we _not_ do this out here?" Juliet begs, feeling like a victim of Lassiter's interrogation. Irritatedly, he extends an arm toward a nearby office and follows her inside, shutting the door behind him.

They stand in silence for a minute as Juliet gathers her thoughts.

Carlton paces across the room, running a hand through his hair and over his face in distress. "I'm racking my brain here trying to figure out what I did wrong, but I've got nothing," he admits. "Juliet, you've never once expressed the slightest interest in transferring out of SBPD and now all of a sudden, out of the blue, you decide to up and leave? Look, I know I'm not an easy person to work with, but- am I really a terrible partner?" he asks, searching for answers.

"No. _God_ no!" she assures him. "It's nothing like that. This doesn't have anything to do with you Lassiter," she lies through her teeth, strategically avoiding his piercing blue eyes. There's a knot in her stomach. "I just- think it's time for a change."

"But we're a team," he reminds her. "And a _goddamn_ good one at that! You're the only person around here I can stand working with. Please, don't leave me alone with Spencer!" he begs in attempt to lighten the mood. But Juliet just smiles somberly.

"I'm sure you'll manage."

"O'Hara-"

"I-" but she can't say what she's thinking. Not aloud anyway. Her feelings are inconsequential- expressing them won't change anything. Or at least, that's what she's convinced herself. "I have to go."

Lassiter sighs in annoyed defeat but lets her walk away.

Juliet darts into the hall where she almost collides with Shawn.

"Woah, Jules slow down," he urges, immediately noting that something is off. But she pushes past him, in no mood to be the subject of his pseudo-psychic visions.

Shawn purses his lips and glances sideways just in time to catch a glimpse of Lassie kicking a trash can in anger. He swiftly ducks his head into the office. "You'd be _rubbish_ at soccer," Shawn notes with wry amusement, letting the pathetic pun hang in the air just long enough to annoy the detective. "Hey, so what's up with Jules?"

"You tell me," Lassiter orders, clearly pissed off. "She just quit her job."

Shawn's expression immediately fades into a muddle of confusion, shock and determination to get to the bottom of this mysterious news.


	2. Chapter 2

Juliet rushes out of the police station without a second thought. Tears threaten to fall from her eyes, but somehow, against all odds, she manages to hold them back. She drives home in silence, in a trance-like state, but it helps to focus on the road. In fact, Jules wishes she could keep driving forever, away from the past until eventually the distance would numb the pain. In time perhaps, it would. It's not like she hadn't given this some serious thought. Juliet had recently been offered a position with the LAPD. Los Angeles was only a couple of hours away and they had a much larger and more prestigious workforce. But more importantly, transferring meant that she'd have a new partner. Someone she could look in the eye and talk to without having to fight the urge to reach out and touch their gracefully-peppering hair. Someone whose focus, arrogance, professionalism, intensity and gorgeous eyes didn't distract her constantly. _Uh-oh_. Juliet feels her concentration fading. She quickly switches on the radio and lets the beat of the music distract her heart the rest of the way home.

As she closes her front door and tosses down her keys, O'Hara reaches into her back pocket and all of a sudden the world comes back into focus. The cool sting of metal is instantly haunting against her skin. _Lassiter's handcuffs_. She'd forgotten to return them after they'd solved their last case together. Jules slowly removes the cuffs from her pocket, clutches them to her chest gently and slumps against the door with a sigh. _What have I done?_ she wonders to herself.

* * *

"That is _utterly_ unacceptable!" Shawn declares melodramatically.

"What the hell was I supposed to do Spencer?" Carlton replies defensively. "I've had hardened criminals disclose information for less. O'Hara wasn't giving me anything."

"Well _yeah_," Shawn scoffs with an amused chuckle. Lassiter's eyes widen at his response. "You're, you know- _you_."

"Wow, thanks psychic," Lassiter mocks. "With insights like that it's a wonder we don't hire you more often." He rolls his eyes and places a folder in the filing cabinet behind him.

"I'll ask her. She'll talk to me," Shawn says confidently.

"Oh you think so?"

"I _know_ so," he replies mystically, bringing two fingers to his forehead.

"Spencer, if you can walk up to O'Hara and get a straight answer out of her on the first try, I will gladly pay you triple your usual rate."

"Oh it's on Lassie, it's on…" Shawn lowers his sunglasses dramatically and twitches his lip, resulting in a face that could only be described as a retarded beaver.

"Spencer, Lassiter- in my office now!" Chief Vick orders suddenly.

"Aww crap." The pair look at each other accusingly, neither of them moving.

"Ladies first," Shawn declares, proceeding to walk out the door and negate his own insult.

Carlton sighs. "I'm surrounded by idiots. No wonder O'Hara left," he remarks dryly under his breath.

Reluctantly, he follows Spencer into the chief's office and stands in the corner with his arms crossed.

"I can't help but notice that the two of you have managed to achieve _absolutely nothing_ today," Karen observes. "Now I realize that O'Hara's departure was unexpected, and I can sympathize with the confusion you must be feeling, but there are cases that need solving and I'm not paying you to stand around and argue with one another."

"We're not 'arguing'" Shawn corrects. "In fact, this may be the first time that Lassie and I have ever agreed on anything," he points out with enthusiasm. Carlton raises an eyebrow.

"And what's that?" the chief asks.

"That Juliet leaving is- _suspicious_."

"This isn't a crime scene Mr. Spencer. O'Hara isn't dead, she walked out that door willingly."

"Yeah, but Jules is the glue that holds this team together. Without her we're just- wait. Wait, I'm getting something!" he declares, faking a vision to make his point.

"I don't have time for games Mr. Spencer. Now, are you ready to focus or should I have you escorted from the building? Because the last thing I need right now is you distracting my head detective."

She glances over at Carlton who is gazing out the window absently.

"Care to weigh in, Lassiter?" She asks with skeptical concern. He's quickly pulled back to reality.

"With all due respect chief, I'm with Spencer on this one."

Karen rolls her eyes. "Alright," she complies. "You have twenty-four hours to confront Juliet. If she isn't back here by this time tomorrow, Lassiter gets a new partner and work resumes as usual. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes chief, thank you," Carlton says with unusual sincerity. "Spencer, we've got work to do."


End file.
